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The power is yours, but not the sight; / You see not upon what you tread; / You have the ages for your guide, / But not the wisdom to be led.”(1)

Edwin Arlington Robinson was born on December 22, 1869 in Maine where he lived during his childhood. Born into a wealthy family, he was the youngest child, so he was not in line to inherit the family-business. While attending Harvard, Robinson's life was suddenly filled with tragedies from both his parents' deaths to his family going bankrupt. These tragedies reflect throughout his poetry. After one of his brother's death, Robinson's life was lived in poverty, until he got a job from President Teddy Roosevelt. After the Roosevelt's presidency was over, he returned to writing. Her wrote The Town down the River, which gave him great success. Next, Robinson worked for private patrons where he was funded until 1916 when he was able to support himself. Robinson eventually won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry three times. In 1922, Robinson won for his Collected Poems, and he won it again in 1925 for "The Man Who Died Twice". The third time he won was for Tristram, the part of his Arthurian trilogy. The rest of his life he spent with other artists, but he was rather distant from others. Never married, Robinson took his last breath on April 6, 1935 in New York.(2)

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Works Consulted

  1. "Edwin A. Robinson." 2008. 7 March 2008. <http://thinkexist.com/quotes/edwin_a._robinson/>
  2. "Edwin Arlington Robinson." 2008. 7 March 2008. <http://www.poemhunter.com/edwin-arlington-robinson/biography/>
  3. "Richard Cory." 2007. 8 March 2008. < http://youtube.com/watch?v=s6q6XFeV2o8>


Links

1920s Poetry Home Page
Famous Poets